Performance of Untreated Waste Cooking Oil Blends in a Diesel Engine

Untreated waste cooking oil (UWCO) is not a feasible diesel fuel. The major problems in engine operation are reported mainly due to UWCO’s high viscosity. To use  UWCO's in diesel engine without modification, it is necessary to make sure that the oils properties must be similar to diesel fuel. In this study, UWCO that has been used several times for frying purposes is investigated for the utilization as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. In order to reduce the viscosity, the UWCO were blend with diesel. Two various blends of UWCO and diesel were prepared and its important properties such as viscosity, density, calorific value and flash point were  evaluated and compared with that of diesel. The blends were then tested in a direct injection diesel engine  in 10% and 30% v/v blends with a reference diesel fuel. Tests were performed under a set of engine operating conditions. It was found that blending UWCO with diesel reduces the viscosity.  Blending of UWCO with diesel has been shown to be an effective method to reduce engine problems associated with the high viscosity of UWCO. The experimental results also show that the basic engine performance such as power output and  fuelconsumptions are comparable to diesel and the emissions of CO and NOx from the UWCO/diesel blends were also found slightly higher than that of diesel fuel

Effects of Open-Valve and Close-Valve Injections on the Performance of a Port Injection Methane Engine

Increasing concerns over energy security and stricter legislation on automotive exhaust emission limits have triggered greater efforts in utilizing alternatives to petroleum-based fuels. Compressed natural gas (CNG) is one of the promising candidates in terms of emissions and price. In this paper, methane, the major constituent of natural gas (NG), in used to fuel a Ricardo E6 engine and run in a port injection operation with open-valve and close-valve injection. The compression ratio is set at 10.5:1. Methane at 30 bar was supplied to the injector and injection length was adjusted to achieve the desired air fuel ratio (AFR). The minimum advance for best torque (MBT) was determined for 1100 rpm speed by measuring the indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) for combustion at spark advance between 14°CA and 35°CA BTDC. The result is clearly demonstrated that the performance of the open valve port injection (OVPI) is superior to the one of the close valve port injection (CVPI) with better IMEP, fuel conversion efficiency, indicated power and volumetric efficiency. The observation indicates that OVPI shows steadiness of peak pressures shifts toward top dead centre (TDC) as spark ignitions were advanced compared to CVPI. In terms of combustion characteristics, the OVPI operation yields shorter ignition delay and overall burning duration even at the same phasing angle. Therefore, the open valve operation is preferable for NG port injection due to the fact that injections take place while intake valve is open. It accelerates the charge flow into the cylinder causing higher volumetric efficiency and avoiding the back pressure that happen when high pressure methane is injected while intake valve closes

Article Effects of Viscous Dissipation on the Slip MHD Flow and Heat Transfer past a Permeable Surface with Convective Boundary Conditions

energie

Acute low grade fever and atypical pneumonia in Asian’s epidemic area-melioidosis is an unequivocally important diagnostic differential

Background: High grade fever and atypical pneumonia in a susceptible Asian epidemic area could construe fatal consequences attributable to specific prevalence factitious organism: i.e Bukholderia pseudomallei. Case report: A 59 years old Indonesian man with predisposing factors of meliodosis initially presented with acute shortness of breath and severe frontal headache associated in Emergency Department of Hospital Teluk Intan, Malaysia. He had history of prolonged low grade fever and non-productive cough for 5 days. Methods/Results: Culture and sensitivity test for blood and pleural fluid were negative for pathogenic organism. The specific tests for tuberculosis were non-reactive for Tuberculos bacilli. The specific oxidase-negative culture and sensitivity for psedomonas was positive after day 3 of hospitalisation and the IGM-ELISA titre antibody level for meliodosis was positive. The patient was well responded to immediate treatment and was discharged for a regular outpatient follow-up for eradication therapy. Conclusion: This case report documents the potential symptoms associated with atypical pneumonia in recognising Meliodosis in an epidemic Asian area. Early suspicion may avert untowards fatal consequences and improved the quality of life

Kajian pengoptimuman penyahikatan larutan menggunakan kaedah permukaan sambutan

Proses penyingkiran bahan pengikat polietilena glikol (PEG) dari padatan pengacuan suntikan logam dikaji pada pelbagai nilai beban serbuk, suhu larutan dan juga masa rendaman, atau pembolehubah tak bersandar. Rekabentuk gubahan memusat berputar digunakan untuk mengkaji kesan pembolehubah tersebut terhadap kekuatan jasad perang, atau pembolehubah bersandar. Kertas kerja ini membincangkan penggunaan Kaedah Permukaan Sambutan(RSM) dalam mengoptimumkan parameter pemprosesan penyahikatan larutan bagi padatan serbuk keluli tahan karat SS316L (saiz purata 19.6 µm) untuk mencapai kekuatan jasad perang yang maksimum. Berdasarkan nilai optimum yang diperolehi (beban serbuk 64% isipadu, suhu larutan sebanyak 59oC dan masa rendaman selama 3 jam), kekuatan jasad perang maksimum yang dicapai adalah 5 MPa. Beban serbuk memiliki kesan paling signifikan terhadap kekuatan jasad perang, diikuti masa rendaman dan suhu larutan. Kaedah ini memberi kemudahan dalam penyelidikan penyahikatan larutan pada masa akan datang terutamanya untuk menyingkirkan PEG dari jasad anum dengan hanya menggunakan persamaan matematik tanpa perlu melakukan ujikaji

Compressed Natural Gas Direct Injection: Comparison Between Homogeneous and Stratified Combustion

Due to abundance of natural gas, the use of natural gas for automotive use, particularly for internal combustion engine (ICE), is more practical and cheaper than their future successors. Even though natural gas is a cleaner fuel than other fossil fuels and has a higher octane number and can lead to higher thermal efficiency, its low carbon number makes it less attractive as compared to gasoline and diesel. Based on its potential, an engine referred to as compressed natural gas direct injection engine (CNGDI) was designed, developed and tested to operate on compressed natural gas (CNG) as monofuel directly and centrally injected into the engine. Computational and experimental works have been performed to investigate the viability of the design. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and experimental works with homogenous combustion showed that the results were in good agreement. From experimental works, it is found that combustion characteristics could be improved by using a stratified charge piston configuration with some drawback on performance. In terms of exhaust emissions, stratified configuration causes slight increase in the emission of CO, CO2 and NOx, which highlight a need for further study on this issue

The evaluation of ignation pedadogical paradigm framework to engineering ethics education

Teaching and learning in higher education has gone through a series of transformation in recent decades. Engineering education is one area that would be crucial to undergo such transformation due to the complex nature of engineering application in industries today. The problem facing engineering graduates is the ability to competently solve real world problems using the knowledge learnt during their tertiary education. The learning approach towards problem solving and critical thinking weren’t sufficiently developed throughout the curriculum. One of the theories of learning that was considered was coined by Piaget, cognitive constructivism theory which uses cognitive tools and in collaboration with the environment learners are exposed to. By incorporating such student-centered learning with group learning would improve the students’ achievement in the learning outcome and increase the learning efficacy. This paper describes the application of Ignation Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP) being applied as a model framework in the teaching of one of the courses offered in Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, i.e. Professional Practice towards strengthening their competencies. By applying a structured formative assessment centered learning environment, the instructor would be able to provide a more holistic learning experience to the students using the cognitive constructivism theory of learning. The results show that the proposed IPP framework is able to complement affectively with the learning theories for engineering education achieving the course outcomes and students would be able to improve their competency in solving complex problem

Detection of defects in natural composite materials using a thermal imaging technique

Nowadays, non-destructive testing (NDT) is frequently replacing destructive techniques in determining the properties of materials. In this study, defects in Kenaf/epoxy composite materials were detected using an inyyfrared (IR) thermal imaging technique, which is one of the most practical non-destructive techniques currently applied. Kenaf bast fibres were used to fabricate composite materials with epoxy resin as a binding material. The composites were manufactured using a manual lay-up process. The thermography analysis of the IR camera were verified by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigations. The defect detection accuracy of this technology is 95%

Buku panduan amalan pendidikan berimpak tinggi (High-Impact Educational Practices-HIEPs) dalam matapelajaran pengajian umum

Dokumen ini disediakan sebagai rujukan pelaksanaan pengajaran dan pembelajaran kursus Matapelajaran Pengajian Umum (MPU) berasaskan Amalan Pendidikan Berimpak Tinggi atau High-Impact Educational Practices (HIEPs) untuk semua tenaga pengajar MPU di Institusi Pendidikan Tinggi. Dokumen ini juga adalah merupakan hasil Bengkel Master Trainer HIEPs kursus MPU yang telah diadakan bersama wakil Universiti Awam dan Institut Pendidikan Tinggi Swasta di dalam dua siri bengkel iaitu pada Mac dan April 2018 di Kuala Lumpur dan Puchong, Selangor. Penggunaaan amalan HIEPs di dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran adalah selari dengan hasrat Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2015-2025 (Pendidikan Tinggi), Lonjakan 1 berkaitan pemantapan kurikulum di mana penekanan perlu diberikan oleh IPT di dalam merekabentuk kurikulum yang holistik, bersepadu dan dijajarkan secara konstruktif dengan menekankan penggunaan Amalan Pendidikan Berimpak Tinggi (HIEPs) yang merangkumi kejelasan kognitif dan konsep, kemahiran keusahawanan serta pembelajaran melalui pengalaman dan inovasi. Sehubungan dengan itu, pelaksanaan HIEPs di dalam kursus-kursus umum di IPT khususnya dapat menyokong usaha Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (Pendidikan Tinggi) untuk membangunkan graduan yang holistik, berciri keusahawanan dan seimbang sejajar dengan Falsafah Pendidikan Tinggi Kebangsaan. Graduan tersebut akan mempunyai ilmu yang relevan dan bersesuaian, berakhlak, serta dilengkapi penetapan minda, tingkah laku dan beradab. Terima kasih diucapkan kepada Fasilitator Bengkel Master Trainer HIEPs kursus MPU dan semua peserta bengkel ini yang telah memberikan kerjasama sewajarnya di dalam penerbitan bahan rujukan ini

Assessment on surface treatment on fatigue life of cylinder block for linear engine using frequency response approach

Objectives: This study was focused on the finite element techniques to investigate the effect of surface treatment on the fatigue life of the vibrating cylinder block for new two-stroke free piston engine using random loading conditions. Motivation: An understanding of the effects related to the random loading is necessary to improve the ability of designers to accurately predict the fatigue behavior of the components in service. An internal combustion engine cylinder block is a high volume production component subjected to random loading. Problem statement: Proper optimization of this component that is critical to the engine fuel efficiency and more robustly pursued by the automotive industry in recent years. A detailed understanding of the applied loads and resulting stresses under in-service conditions is demanded. Approach: The finite element modeling and analysis were performed utilizing the computer aided design and finite element analysis codes respectively. In addition, the fatigue life prediction was carried out using finite element based fatigue analysis code. Aluminum alloys were considered as typical materials in this study. Results: The frequency response approach was applied to predict the fatigue life of cylinder block using different load histories. Based on the finite element results, it was observed that the fatigue life was significantly influenced for the nitriding treatment. The obtained results were indicated that the nitrided treatment produces longest life for all loading conditions. Conclusion: The nitriding process is one of the promising surface treatments to increase the fatigue life for aluminum alloys linear engine cylinder block